Nascar – Russian Machine Never Breakshttp://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com
We're the relentlessly fun Washington Capitals blog hopelessly devoted to Alex Ovechkin, Dmitry Orlov, and Evgeny Kuznetsov!Fri, 09 Dec 2016 22:04:36 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7A Russian machine never brakes recap: Ryan Ellis finishes 36th in Drive Sober 200 at Dover (Photos)http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/10/06/a-russian-machine-never-brakes-recap-ryan-ellis-finishes-36th-in-drive-sober-200-at-dover-photos/
http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/10/06/a-russian-machine-never-brakes-recap-ryan-ellis-finishes-36th-in-drive-sober-200-at-dover-photos/#commentsThu, 06 Oct 2016 18:35:28 +0000http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=113363During the month of September, we held a fundraiser so Caps fan and NASCAR driver Ryan Ellis could get the final funds he needed to participate in the Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway. The RMNB community came up big again, raising a final total of $8,865 ($1k was donated outside of the fundraiser).

Over the weekend it was finally time to go racing. Chris Gordon and I joined Ryan in Dover, Delaware, to document his experience. Many random, amazing things happened, so I’m going to share everything.

On Friday afternoon, I arrived in Dover and joined Ryan and Chris at the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, a complex built adjacent to the track.

After swapping some funny stories for a couple hours, we made our way to the casino where we ran into several other drivers, including Matthew DiBenedetto. DiBenedetto and Ryan frequently race on the same team, BK Racing, and have a bit of a bromance. More on that later.

As we made our way around the casino, we noticed a familiar face at the craps table: Tony Stewart.

Stewart played craps for at least 5 hours straight that night. I know that because he didn’t move an inch the entire time I was there. After Ryan and DiBenedetto finished playing blackjack (Ryan didn’t actually lose any money), Chris and I made our way to the Dover Day’s Inn.

The time was 1.459 seconds behind the pole winner, Erik Jones. Ryan would start Saturday’s race in the 32nd position.

“Every race is a great jump forward in my career,” Ryan told me candidly on pit road that day. “It’s hard to get opportunities in the Sprint Cup and Xfinity series as just about every driver is expected to bring sponsorship or pay out of their own pocket upwards of $150k.”

Ryan was happy with his time but wanted me to understand the context.

“The car was really fast,” Ellis said. “We are a low budget team that doesn’t have the motor that the big teams have, nor the massive amount of employees that they have. We only had a few crew guys there and we are beating teams with way bigger budgets than our own. People don’t realize that beating those teams is a huge feat and nearly impossible when they’re spending $200k more than us a race. The Rick Ware team does such a great job of making the most out of what we have each week.”

We were also joined at the track by Jackson and his family. Jackson’s family came out to the Autobahn Indoor Speedway event we hosted with Ryan on Thursday night in Joppa, Maryland. Ryan enjoyed Jackson’s family so much, he gave them pit passes for the weekend.

As our team walked back to the garage, we noticed Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano speaking to his crew chief by his car. Ryan urged me to go up to him and tell him that I write for a hockey blog and that we were sponsoring him this weekend. Logano grew up playing hockey and met his wife at an ice rink.

Then the rain set in. A low pressure system had plagued the east coast since Thursday. The Xfinity series managed to get practice and qualifying in. The race that afternoon, scheduled for 3pm, was in doubt. So Chris and I went live on Facebook and did guerilla interviews with the fellow drivers.

After our Facebook Live session, we were still bored. So, during a NBCSN interview, Chris got some free promotion for RMNB. As Ellis gave detailed instructions, Chris stood in the background behind Sprint Cup driver Justin Allgaier while wearing a white RMNB t-shirt.

Around 3pm, the drivers were asked to make their way to their cars. We ran into the Young Rising Sons, whose lead singer, Andy Tongren, was singing the national anthem before the race. The band members are huge Caps fans, read RMNB, and donated money to sponsor the car.

“We had a tire rub that didn’t look that bad in practice, and got way worse in the race with lower pressures and a different set of tires,” Ryan said after a visit to the infield care center. “The rub went through the sidewall of the tire and blew all at once with a loud pop. There wasn’t a slow drain of air that would’ve made it manageable, it just went all at once.”

Ryan’s crew could not get the car running again, and officially retired from the race. He finished in 36th. Despite the wreck, Ryan was not seriously hurt (he complained of dizziness and went to the hospital later to get checked out) and found both race weekend and the fundraiser to be a huge success.

“It was a great weekend,” Ryan said. “Not only is Dover one of my favorite tracks that we go to, but representing RMNB, its writers, and all of their followers and readers was a really cool experience. It’s always been an honor to represent the DC market in motorsports, and this kind of brought it all together.”

I’ve been forced to find my own sponsorship through networking during my career,” Ryan continued. “When the RMNB guys and myself thought of this, we knew that not only would it be a great opportunity for both of us, but a great grassroots story and I’m so glad it came together.”

Video

Lesli Foster: “Drivers in tomorrow’s NASCAR race in Dover, well they’re going to be chasing a whole bunch of local hockey fans.”

Dave Longo: “Worlds colliding in this story. Get this, one of the drivers out there is being sponsored by a local hockey blog, russianmachineneverbreaks.com. Here’s the car #25, driven by Ryan Ellis who grew up in Ashburn and went to George Mason. Now if you’re a big Caps fan, you’ve heard of the RMNB blog. Fans of the site helped raised money to get Ellis on the track there at Dover. They forked over 8,888 dollars a tribute of course to ‘The Great 8,’ Alex Ovechkin. Now tattooed on the rear of the car, the phrase “Crash the net… Not the bumper!” Whole bunch of cars are going to end up squished tomorrow if it keeps raining out there.”

“I became an RMNB fan three or four years ago when I was introduced to the site by my mother,” Ellis said. “I’ve been a huge Caps fan, and never miss a game, but I found RMNB to be a very interesting refreshing way to look at the sport. I met a bunch of the guys last year and once I figured out they were NASCAR fans, we knew we had to make something like this happen.

“The RMNB community has been so supportive and we could not do this without them,” Ellis continued. “The deal this weekend goes way further than a decal on a racecar. To me, it shows the support that the DMV area has for one of their own, not only for me, but for RMNB.”

]]>http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/10/01/wusa9-features-rmnb-sponsorship-with-ryan-ellis-on-11-oclock-news/feed/1A first look at Ryan Ellis’s RMNB-sponsored NASCAR race car with your names on ithttp://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/09/29/a-first-look-at-ryan-elliss-rmnb-sponsored-nascar-race-car-with-your-names-on-it/
http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/09/29/a-first-look-at-ryan-elliss-rmnb-sponsored-nascar-race-car-with-your-names-on-it/#commentsThu, 29 Sep 2016 13:51:40 +0000http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=113048Thanks to you, we raised $8,840 for Caps fanRyan Ellis to participate in the Drive Sober 200 Xfinity race at Dover International Speedway this Saturday. That money went to pay for a pit crew, transporting the car, new tires, parts – you name it. It also paid for a half-wrap of Ryan’s black-and-blue painted #25 Chevy Camaro.

Over the last few days, I’ve frantically worked with Rick Ware Racing and Carnage Graphics to turn around a hood design, a bumper design, and several other lower quarter panel decals. While it’s been fun and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it’s also been quite stressful. We also had to figure out where to put everyone’s name who donated, how to best credit our secondary sponsors, and how to make all of those logos perfect vector illustrations.

After 48 hours, the car design was finished (minus the bumper). I really hope you smile at the final result.

The hood design

Red is one of RMNB’s most iconic colors, but that would be too bright to be the color of the hood. My original idea was to make the hood ice blue with skate shavings, similar to our site’s new masthead. With the limitation that the car had to be black and dark blue, I shifted gears.

Instead, I decided to highlight the Never Breaks aspect of our brand and give the hood a diamond plate steel texture on a dark silver/black gradient. Below the RMNB wordmark, I recreated our entire domain in yellow skate laces. Finally, there’s a goal light, illustrated by Rachel Cohen, at the bottom of the hood. You know, because we love to goals and celebration.

We also gave people the option through email to change the name they submitted. That was maybe a mistake.

Harambe

One reader was adamant that his donation be credited to Harambe. After careful consideration and heartfelt tears, we fulfilled his request. Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a thing?

Side Design

One of the limitations of the design was that we could only do a half wrap, meaning we could not control all the colors of the car. Where Ryan’s #25 is located near the driver’s window, three stripes — RMNB’s black, blue, and red colors — were added.

The Young Rising Sons will also be performing a free concert before the race. They are sponsoring our car. We cannot thank them enough for their contribution.

Rockville SportsPlex and DCHL logos

The Michael & Son SportsPlex and DCHL logos were included on the side of the car. The Rockville SportsPlex hosted our floor hockey tournament last Saturday and Suds, the DCHL Commissioner, planned and organized our tournament. The tourney was a huge success and we could not have made our goal without them. We are grateful.

Back Bumper

Finally, as I mentioned above, the only part of the design that isn’t ready to go is the back bumper. It’ll feature a special message to other drivers that one of our Twitter followers suggested. There is also an ad on the C pillar (above the rear window) promoting awareness for the autoimmune condition PANS/PANDAS, which RMNB’s Chris Gordon has. We don’t have close up photos of that yet. Stay turned to RMNB on race day for the pictures!

Now that the design is done, the Rick Ware Racing team will be hauling the car to Dover Thursday. Friday — weather permitting — there will be practice and qualifying. Then on Saturday, there’s only one last thing to do.

]]>http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/09/29/a-first-look-at-ryan-elliss-rmnb-sponsored-nascar-race-car-with-your-names-on-it/feed/18Russian Machine Never Brakes: Help Caps Fan Ryan Ellis Race in the Drive Sober 200http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/09/07/russian-machine-never-brakes-help-caps-fan-ryan-ellis-race-in-the-drive-sober-200/
http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/09/07/russian-machine-never-brakes-help-caps-fan-ryan-ellis-race-in-the-drive-sober-200/#commentsWed, 07 Sep 2016 14:08:26 +0000http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=111478If you’ve been part of the RMNB family for very long, you’ve probably heard of Ryan Ellis.

As a NASCAR driver, Ryan’s responsible for raising the (very large sums of) money he needs to get a car into every single race. He really wants to race in the Xfinity Series Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway in Delaware October 1, but needs some help from the RMNB family to get him to the fundraising finish line.

We’ve worked with Ryan to put together some really cool incentives to say thanks. They include getting your name on the car he’ll drive in the race, a limited-edition t-shirt, pit passes, and other cool stuff. If you’re a small business, there are also opportunities to get your logo on the car, and even to sponsor RMNB for a month.

]]>http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/09/07/russian-machine-never-brakes-help-caps-fan-ryan-ellis-race-in-the-drive-sober-200/feed/4Caps Fan Ryan Ellis Missed Game Six of the First Round — to Race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Serieshttp://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/05/03/caps-fan-ryan-ellis-missed-game-six-of-the-first-round-to-race-in-the-nascar-sprint-cup-series/
http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/05/03/caps-fan-ryan-ellis-missed-game-six-of-the-first-round-to-race-in-the-nascar-sprint-cup-series/#commentsWed, 04 May 2016 01:51:04 +0000http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=106197

Photos by Chris Gordon.

Ryan Ellis rarely misses a Capitals game. A former college hockey player, the Ashburn native is a diehard fan. But as the Caps closed out the Flyers in Game Six of the first round, Ellis wasn’t watching, or even tracking, the game. Instead, he was making his second career start in the top-tier NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at his home track at Richmond International Raceway.

“That’s the track I grew up watching Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt race at as a little kid and say ‘Oh, it would be cool to sit a little closer next year, not knowing that 15 years later I would driving at it.” Ellis said. “I always wanted to. That’s the only thing you ever think of, but you never really expect to get the chance because you can never expect anything in this sport.”

You would think NASCAR and hockey don’t mix, but they do. NASCAR is a southern sport built on cheap beer, rivalries, and relatively unsophisticated V8s speeding past you at ear-splitting levels. Hockey is a graceful northern game featuring cheap beer, rivalries, and relatively unsophisticated people punching each other in the face. In the stands at Richmond, as Ellis raced in the Toyota Owners 400, there were dozens of people in Capitals gear to be found, including some in full jerseys.

Last year, we profiled Ellis before he made his debut in the Sprint Cup Series. It was a big break for the Virginian, as picked up sponsorship from the Reston-based ScienceLogic (and a tiny bit from RMNB). It was a one-time deal. The race was delayed until late on the Eastern Time Zone and ultimately rain-shortened. Nevertheless, much Ellis’s fanbase, disproportionally made up of Capitals fans, cheered him on as raced to the finish. ScienceLogic came back for more, giving Ellis three races of full sponsorship in 2016 with the opportunity for more.

“It was so cool to race at Richmond because not only is it my hometown track, and I grew up watching racing there, but I had 75 to 100 guests from ScienceLogic not only in the pits, but in the stands and in the suite, and my family, friends, just a lot of people,” Ellis said. “It was almost overwhelming how much support we had that I felt like I didn’t have enough time to spend enough time with anybody. I wanted to make sure everyone knew I was thankful for having them there and ScienceLogic for the sponsorship because I couldn’t have done it without them, obviously.”

Driving the #93 BK Racing Toyota Camry, Ellis started the race in 37th after qualifying was rained out and the field was set based on practice speeds. BK normally races two cars, the #23 of David Ragan and the #83 of Matt DiBenedetto, one of Ellis’s close friends. As BK’s third driver, Ellis was left piloting on an old chassis dating back to the days of Red Bull Racing, which ceased operating in 2011. Nevertheless, he moved up in the field before suffering a late race spin due after being rear ended by Landon Cassill. Michael Annett, who, oddly enough, has a Hockey Database page after playing two seasons in juniors with the Waterloo Blackhawks was the cause of the incident after missing a shift, which forced Ellis and the rest of the cars behind him to hit the brakes. Annett ended up finishing one place ahead of Ellis at the finish line.

“I actually thought about that while we were racing,” Ellis said of Annett’s hockey career. “It’s kind of weird how the two guys who play hockey are freaking racing each other the whole race.”

In the end, Ellis finished where he started, placing 37th at the 0.75 mile long oval. That’s on par with where his teammates finished last year before they upgraded their cars for 2016 after purchasing much of the equipment and hiring many employees from the now defunct Michael Waltrip Racing. After the race, Ellis’s mom Jane greeted him to celebrate — but it had nothing do with NASCAR.

“The first thing my mom said to me after I got out of the car was ‘The Caps won!’ Ellis said.

Miller Lite, Crispy M&Ms, the AARP.. and now Russian Machine Never Breaks. With tonight’s Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, we entered the rarefied air of NASCAR sponsors. After a rain delay of nearly seven hours, our boy Ryan Ellis took to the track in his #33 ScienceLogic/RMNB Chevy SS for his debut race in NASCAR’s top series.

As we noted in our profile of him, Ryan is a huge Caps fan, former GMU hockey player, and RMNB reader from Ashburn. Ellis said his goal for the race was to learn and avoid accidents in the penultimate race of the year. He did just that, bringing his car home undamaged in 40th in a hectic race filled with uncertainties and the heat of NASCAR’s playoffs. The race was called due to rain after drivers completed 219 of the scheduled 312 laps. Going forward, Ryan hopes to build on this opportunity to get a full-time ride next year and continue to make Sprint Cup Series starts. Congrats to Ryan on a safe first race! This was one of the coolest things we’ve done as a blog. It was a thrill to share it with him. Let this be a lesson: RMNB readers are awesome!

]]>http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2015/11/16/rmnb-officially-becomes-first-hockey-blog-to-sponsor-sprint-cup-car-as-ryan-ellis-makes-sprint-cup-debut/feed/9Caps Fan Ryan Ellis Will Make His Debut in NASCAR’s Top Series This Weekendhttp://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2015/11/09/caps-fan-ryan-ellis-will-make-his-debut-in-nascars-top-series-this-weekend/
http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2015/11/09/caps-fan-ryan-ellis-will-make-his-debut-in-nascars-top-series-this-weekend/#commentsMon, 09 Nov 2015 14:19:41 +0000http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/?p=93677

There’s a reason why race car drivers thank companies before family members in post-race interviews: they are the main reason they have a seat. This Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, Ryan Ellis, a die-hard Caps fan and RMNB reader from Ashburn, will get a shot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the sport’s top level. The 25-year-old will drive the Circle Sport #33 Chevy SS, sponsored by the Reston-based IT firm Science Logic, in the penultimate race of the season.

“I’m really, really freaking excited,” Ellis told me last month.

NASCAR is a sport that originated in the deep south. Increasingly, though, it’s becoming a national phenomenon and a destination for the world’s top race drivers. NHL hockey, too, has expanded, as it tries to transition from Canada’s game to a sport that can succeed in the sunbelt and other environs below the Mason-Dixon line. Ellis is a product of both trends. Born in California, he moved to the DC exburbs as a toddler. His grandfather, Vic, was a champion midget car racer in the Midwest in the post-War era, perhaps racing’s most dangerous time, before he was killed in 1958. Undeterred, Vic’s son Jim began racing motorcycles after his father’s death. A collarbone fracture put Jim behind the wheel instead, where he raced as an amateur until he retired to help Ryan’s budding career. Now, 57 years after Vic Ellis’s death, his grandson is about the take the family passion to its biggest stage yet, one that averages around 100,000 spectators every week.

“My family’s got a pretty deep-rooted history in racing, just not necessary a big name,” Ellis said.

Ellis racing a Capitals-sponsored car in 2010.

Because of that family history, Ellis got started racing young, winning his first event when he was just five-years-old. He raced his way up on a oval tracks, the natural path for a future-NASCAR driver. In 2006, however, Ellis began the switch to road racing, where he had to pay for the opportunity to drive, which is common in motorsports. After a couple of previous starts in NASCAR, both regionally and nationally, Ellis moved to North Carolina in January 2014 to switch to the sport full-time, racing nationally in the third-tier Camping World Truck Series and the second-tier Xfinity series.

But that’s not why we’re writing about him. Instead, it’s his connection to hockey. Ellis may be a bigger hockey fan than speed junkie.

“If I ever lived my life over I’d totally be a hockey player,” he said. “I’ve dreamt of doing that my whole life,” he said.

Ellis in his Reston Raiders uniform.

Ellis got started playing both inline and ice hockey around the same age he got into a car, four-years-old. Without a rink in Loudoun County, Ellis played for the Reston Raiders. One of Ellis’s first racing sponsors was actually the Ashburn Ice House, when Loudoun’s hockey hotbed finally got its own rink.

“That was like a new concept,” Ellis said. “I don’t know how much money it was. I was so little, I didn’t know what money was really. It was pretty cool. It was a little crossbreed between hockey and racing.”

Ellis, who counts the end of the 1998 Stanley Cup Final as one of the worst moments of his life, went on to win multiple championships as a player for Stone Bridge High School, where he often played at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Even while he had a full-time racing career, Ellis attended George Mason University, still playing both inline and club ice hockey, though he abbreviated his on-ice career so he didn’t risk injuring himself. At Mason wore 25 in honor of Jason Chimera, a fellow player with “hands of stone.”

“Playing college hockey was one of the coolest things in my life,” Ellis added. “I still look at pictures of that like every freakin’ day! Hardly anyone even knows we have a Mason team.”

At Mason, Ellis had an insane schedule, racing every weekend, working two jobs, and playing adult and college hockey all while going to school.

“It was tough,” Ellis said. “It was crazy. Part of the reason why it was nice to get away to North Carolina is because I wasn’t able to put 100 percent into my racing and 100 percent into my college.”

He left Mason after the fall semester of 2013 just two classes short of his degree.

“When you live there you didn’t have the networking and you don’t get to know the drivers and the teams,” Ellis said of Virginia. “I was like, ‘I’m going down to North Carolina and I’m gonna do it and do it right!'”

Ellis, who plays defense, during a Mason club hockey game.

Ellis, however, hasn’t had to give up his love of hockey. Star Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano plays himself and owns ice rinks in North Carolina. Michael Annett, another full-time Sprint Cup driver, used to play junior hockey in the USHL. Kevin Harvick, another top driver, is also a hockey fan. The Charlotte Checkers of the AHL host an annual Race Night, which attracted Harvick, Logano, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Trevor Bayne, and Regan Smith, all well-known drivers in the sport, when it was last held in January. Ellis still manages to play inline hockey two days a week, though ice is hard to come by. He’s even played pick-up hockey with former Capital Steve Oleksy.

“I’ve brought a few drivers out,” Ellis said. “We just do some stick and puck stuff because they usually can’t skate.”

Even without a degree, Ellis’s time at Mason has been invaluable to his racing career. Especially in NASCAR, careers live and die on the ability of drivers to get sponsorships. Lesser drivers will get a gig if they bring financial backing. Racing may be a business of passion, but it’s still a business rather than a charity. Teams can’t afford to lose money.

“In hockey if you have the skill you’re always going to have a job,” Ellis said. “In racing if you have money, you’re always going to have a job. If you have a sponsor, you’re always going to have a job.”

Ellis has lost track of the number of teams he has raced for. Without family money or a full-time sponsor behind him, Ellis searches for a seat week-to-week. Often, his teams have not had the money to run a full race, a common theme in NASCAR known as a “start and park.”

“When you’re a race car driver, you’re so much more than a driver,” Ellis said. “Driving is the easiest part. Finding sponsorship and money to do it every week is the real job and that’s the hard part of it all. My Monday to Friday job is building sponsorship proposals and sending them out.”

With Science Logic, Ellis hopes his luck will change. He got the seat himself, pitching the company to put up the money. He is hoping to represent them well this weekend. It’s his best shot so far at a full-time job in sport.

“I’ve been hoping for an opportunity like this all year,” Ellis said. “Everything just worked out perfectly for once. Usually checks don’t clear or something. It’s a true sponsorship in every sense of the word. It’s a great company. It could lead to some much bigger stuff next year.”

Racing is tumultuous sport. While the big names make millions of dollars, smaller teams struggle to survive. Numerous drivers battle for any empty seats. When asked when he realized racing would be his career, Ellis laughed.

“Uh, it seems like I’m still trying to figure that out every day,” he said.

Saturday night, Richmond International Raceway hosted NASCAR’s 26th race of the year, the final contest before the 2011 Chase field or “playoff” is set. Naturally with such a big race on hand, there needed to be some A-List talent to wave the green flag. So NASCAR trudged out the Jersey Shore’s Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi to be the Honorary Starter of the Wonderful Pistachios 400. Really? You can’t make this stuff up.